Superstar and sports aficionado Ranveer Singh took the internet by storm recently as he shared the screen space with Arsenal legends Cesc Fabregas and Patrick Vieira for Sky Sports. The pop culture icon was present pitchside ahead of the Gunners’ clash against Chelsea at the Emirates.
Opening up about the impact of football in India, Singh shared how despite cricket being a dominating sport, football is massively popular in the country.
Receiving immense love from fans all across on social media, he was called ‘genuine and outstanding’ by a Twitter user.
Calling it one of the highest honours, another fan wrote, ‘The best interview ever this is every fan’.
Adding to the same, more users wrote, ‘Refreshing to see the passion he has for football.’, ‘Despite the fact he’s Arsenal, love how he’s so passionate about football’, ‘What a man. He received so much praise from Sky for being so respectful. He’s trying to promote football in India through his fame, which is nice. He’s such a fanboy and I love it.’
Also seen chatting with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for the same, Singh truly created history at the Emirates Stadium for the Arsenal vs Chelsea game. He stated, “Honoured to be here, privileged to be on the show in such esteemed company. Mr Patrick Vieira, Cesc Fabregas and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, all my friends in India, you can reach your heart out. Since we are born in India, cricket is like a religion for us, it’s in our blood. But, after cricket, if there is anything else, it is football. Football is huge in India.”
Talking about how he fell in love with the sport, Singh further added, “The English Premier League came (in India) at the turn of the century, around the year 2000. A whole generation got hooked on this high-quality football. It was around then when I was watching the Invincibles play football. And that’s what made me fall in love with the sport and Arsenal. We have so much love as Arsenal fans, football fans and fans of the Premier League and for your (Hasselbaink) contribution to the sport.”
For the unversed, he’s the only actor ever to be announced as the brand ambassador for Star Sports in India to fuel sports fandom in the country. Currently, at the top of his endorsement game, Ranveer seems to be a powerful force considering his vast knowledge.
Being one of India’s most valuable celebrities with over 47 plus brand endorsements portfolio, as per the eighth edition of the Kroll’s Celebrity Brand Valuation Study titled Beyond the Mainstream, the pop culture icon has a massive brand value worth USD 181.7 million.
His other prolific sports associations include his role as India Ambassador for Premier League, National Basketball Association (NBA) India Brand Ambassador, Yas Island brand ambassador in Abu Dhabi along with being the face of global sportswear brand Adidas in addition to more.
